In medicine, in particular, in emergency medicine, the log roll or logrolling is a maneuver used to move a patient without flexing the spinal column. Patient's legs are stretched, the head is held, to immobilize the neck.[1]
Some sources recommend patient's arms crossed over the chest,[1] while others suggest that to minimize the amount of lateral spinal displacement the arms must be stretched along the sides, with palms resting on the thighs.[2] [3]
After that the patient is carefully rolled in the desired direction without twisting or bending the body.
Typically logrolling into a supine position is used for transport of a casualty. Other cases include logrolling on a side, e.g., to facilitate vomiting.,[3] or from side to side, for medical examination.[4]